1. Columbia Park:

Columbia City's "village green" was originally part of a 40-foot ravine carved by a creek that emptied into Wetmore Slough (now the Genesee Playfield). A huge log bridged the ravine at its southern end. In 1911, the Seattle Park Department cleared away the underbrush, opened up the paths, and cleared out the brook. Salmon were often caught there during spawning season. In the 1920s, the creek was diverted into a sewer line and the ravine was filled. Parts were used as a garbage dump. For many years, especially on warm Sundays, sermons at nearby Columbia Baptist Church were punctuated by the unholy smell of rotting refuse. Today, the ravine is a broad expanse of lawn bracketed by a public library to the east and a row of frame houses, dating from 1902 to 1933, on the west.

Courtesy Cassandra Tate

Courtesy Rainier Valley Historical Society